Mushke
Output Great but Not as Expected
I wanted to produce a Michigan ladybird deed and thought I was doing so until at the end of the effort, I got a quit claim deed that I thought would transfer the property immediately upon filing with a registrar instead of upon death of the owner. I read the next steps but did not go through the deed itself so was admittedly confused. Maybe a word of explanation in the next steps would clarify matters to those like myself with no legal expertise. I would also have liked to be able to get my output in both pdf and docx instead of one or the other. I rarely use my license for Office and was surprised that it had expired and needed a renewal. Overall, the software did an amazing job since I had several aspects that may not be common such as a deceased owner and a power of attorney. It would help to know exactly what I needed to have in hand before starting such as a death certificate for a deceased owner. Perhaps a check list at the beginning about special circumstances could be used to prompt users to get special documentation. I had even forgotten the exact date of death so had to look it up. It is great that a service like DeedClaim is available and impressive that my original review received a detailed and prompt reply.
Response from DeedClaimOct 7, 2017
Thank you for the feedback, Mushke. If you look underneath the title of your deed, you may see a parenthetical notation that says "Enhanced Life Estate Deed." That, along with language in the body of the document, is what identifies the deed as a quitclaim deed. As we explain in our section on Michigan quitclaim deeds (https://www.deedclaim.com/michigan/quit-claim-deed/): "The term quitclaim deed relates specifically to the warranty of title. There are other forms of deeds with names that do not refer to the warranty of title. In Michigan, for example, traditional life estate deeds and lady bird deeds are used to avoid probate. Because these names don’t relate to the warranty of title, they can apply to quitclaim deeds. In other words, a deed may be both a quitclaim deed and a life estate deed." In your case, both of the deeds you created today were Michigan lady bird deeds AND quitclaim deeds. That is why the title had both "Quitclaim Deed" and "Enhanced Life Estate Deed" (enhanced life estate deed is the technical name for lady bird deed). Neither deed would transfer property immediately. Both take effect at death (see the language regarding the life tenant and remainder beneficiaries in the opening paragraph). As to your comment regarding the file format: We allow our users to choose which format they want based on their needs and provide guidance for choosing the correct format. We also allow our users to convert the documents from one format to another if needed. Finally, the first page of the interview does let you know what you need to get started ("Before we get started, there are a few items that you will need to collect ..."). In your case, your situation involved a special situation that required a death certificate for a deceased owner. We don't know whether that situation applies until you get further into the interview. It would be confusing to users to tell them at the beginning to locate a death certificate for a deceased owner, because most transfers do not involve deceased owners. That is why we ask for that information only once you indicate that there is a deceased owner. Thanks again for using DeedClaim and for the feedback. If you feel like our comments addressed your concerns, please consider updating your review. DeedClaim